Search form

Quick HitAshlee RezinWednesday May 29th, 2013, 10:54am

Undocumented Military Students Call For Immigration Reform: 'All I Want To Do Is Serve This Country' (VIDEO)

Alejandro Morales has dreams of becoming the Marines’ first Latino commandant. But, having been carried across the border at only seven
months old, Morales is an undocumented immigrant and thus cannot enlist
in the military.

Morales
was one of four undocumented military students to speak about the importance of comprehensive immigration reform Tuesday at the Marine
Military Math and Science Academy. Attended by approximately 200 cadets
from several of the city’s six public military-themed high schools, the
forum was sponsored by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR). The forum's particpants called on U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) to support pending immigration legislation.

Attendees were encouraged to write a message about immigration reform on an oversized picture of Kirk, which will be delivered to his office.

“All
I want to do is serve this country as a Marine, not for selfish reasons, but really to give back to the country and serve this country,” Morales
said.

Unable to enlist or afford college, as undocumented
immigrants do not qualify for federal financial aid, he is now
learning to be a truck driver. He applied for deferred action and a
temporary work permit earlier this year.

“I believe what
this country stands for, I would give my life to those around me and for
the country,” Morales said. “I believe in that.”

In an
attempt to create a streamlined path to citizenship for America’s
estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants, an immigration reform
package was introduced
in April by a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators referred to as the
“Gang of Eight.” The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and
Immigration Modernization Act of 2013, S 744, lays out a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who meet certain criteria. After a 10-year wait, they would
be eligible to apply for a green card, and would
then be able to apply to be a U.S. citizen after an additional
three years' time.

A key component of the bill is the DREAM
Act, which would provide citizenship to young undocumented immigrants
who serve at least four years in the military or attend two years of
college. To qualify, applicants must have entered the U.S. at an age younger than
16, have been in America since December 31, 2011, and have received a high school
diploma or equivalent. Recipients of a green card under the DREAM Act
would be able to bypass a waiting period and immediately apply for
citizenship.

The bill was passed by a 13-5 vote last week in the Senate Judiciary Committee and now advances to the full Senate.

Francisco Peralta, 17, a senior at Phoenix Military Academy
who was brought from Mexico to the U.S. at the age of three, said he
hopes “to be a leader amongst peers.” Also an undocumented immigrant, he
spoke with Progress Illinois about his dreams of becoming an Army
officer:

“We have many young people who want to serve, and
we should not be turning away all this talent and enthusiasm and
patriotism,” said Fred Tsao, policy director for ICIRR. “Rather than
telling these young people, ‘No you can’t join the military, you can’t
relize your dream,’ we should be fully embracing them.”

According to U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Gang of Eight who spoke at an unrelated event
last week, “the DREAM Act included in the comprehensive immigration
reform is the strongest version of the law that has ever been written.”

“This time we have a chance to pass it,” he said.

Durbin first introduced the DREAM Act in 2001 and several versions of the bill have been proposed over the course of 12 years. But federal legislation has yet to be passed, and in 2010 the bill fell five votes short of breaking a Republican filibuster.

That year, Kirk sided
with Republicans and blocked the DREAM Act from advancing. This year,
advocates are saying they don’t want that to happen again.

“The
political situation is very different now than it was in 2010, there’s a
lot more awareness of the need for immigration reform,” Tsao said. “We
are urging Senator Kirk to support broader immigration reform that will
include this pathway to citizenship, specifically for these young people
who want to serve in our military and contribute to our country’s well
being.”

The Illinois DREAM Act was enacted
in 2011. The law established a privately-funded Illinois DREAM Fund to create for
scholarships to undocumented youth. It also gives families the opportunity
to take part in college savings and prepaid tuition programs. Illinois is the country’s first state to create a private scholarship
fund for undocumented college students.

Todd Conner, executive
director for military academies in Chicago Public Schools (CPS), called
the Illinois DREAM Act a “step in the right direction,” but said
undocumented youth’s inability to enlist in the military is a “clear
impediment” to his students.

“These students go through
life living normal lives as Americans, and then they turn 18 and it
comes time to make choices about college or enlisting in the military,
and they get stopped short,” he said.

With approximately 11,000 students enrolled, CPS operates the nation’s largest Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) program. Conner estimates that 20 percent of the students are undocumented.

“It’s
easy to take a side on this, or be opposed to immigration reform, until
you meet students,” he said, regarding Kirk’s opposition. “But these
students are doing the right things, playing by the rules, living
American lives and representing the best in this country. We need to
personalize immigration reform so people understand what this means for
real kids.”

Meanwhile, Jose Pantoja, 17, said his dreams
of becoming an Army officer were “crushed” when he learned of the post's
citizenship requirements.

“The first time I wore my uniform I had goosebumps,” he said.

Brought from Mexico to the U.S. at the age of four, Pantoja is an undocumented immigrant and senior at Chicago Military Academy. He is also president of his school’s National Honor’s Society and will be graduating at the top of his class.

He
said if Kirk were to support the Border Security, Economic Opportunity,
and Immigration Modernization Act, it would benefit the entire country.
He was one of more than 30 forum attendees to sign Kirk’s picture,
urging the legislator to support immigration reform.

“We
are aspiring servicemen and women who have aspirations to be in the
United States military,” he said. “We just want our chance to show our
leadership and make contributions to the United States.”